Four Swords of the Mist
by Godentine
Summary: After Kyuubi's sealing, Naruto is kidnapped and left for dead in the Mist. There, he finds a team willing to raise him and eventually joins the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He grows and thrives with his new family, until one day they're attacked...Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

**Chap. 1**

**Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto**

**This was orginally titled The Last Four Swordsmen and was written by SagazLegend (Me) a good year ago. I was asked to continue and found myself bored enough to try it even with another fic sitting there. **

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There were throngs of cheering people -civilians- surrounding the Hokage Monument on this otherwise quiet evening. They gazed at the Sandaime who was standing on the Yondaime's head. Raising his hand, the Sandaime motioned for the crowd below him to be silent. Taking a deep breath, he started speaking : "Today, on the Ninth Day since the appearance of the fox known only as the Kyuubi, we witness something thought impossible. What we have seen tonight is...the defeat of the demon, KYUUBI NO KITSUNE!-", Sarutobi, the Sandaime, paused as he watched the crowds cheer, "However, this victory at a great cost to our dear lord Hokage, the late Yondaime. This day, he has sacrificed his own life to help our village destroy the menace of Kyuubi. He has sacrificed his own soul to the Shinigami to seal Kyuubi into a newborn, named Uzumaki Naruto, who will be considered a HERO OF THIS VILLAGE!"

As the crowd cheered louder, two Anbu stationed on guard duty looked at each other, one who was called Raven, the other, Cat-face. Raven sneered under his mask and spoke with contempt, "Hey Cat-face, I'm gonna kill that brat 'Uzumaki Naruto' tonight, while its still helpless."

Cat-face looked over at his comrade. "Err...why are you going around killing newborns?"

Raven gawked, "You heard Hokage-sama, thats not a newborn, its CLEARLY a reincarnation of the Kyuubi!"

Cat-face nodded sagely. Yes that made perfect sense. Not. "Wha?"

Raven sighed, "Hokage-sama said Kyuubi was sealed into that stupid, so doesn't it make sense that the brat wouldbe influenced by Kyuubi? He'll probably end up following in that monster's footsteps finish the job!"

Cat-face nodded again. "I see where your going, but killing a Konoha citizen would earn you the death penalty, no? So why not just bring him to...I dunno...the Water country and leave him for dead?"

Raven agreed, "Excellent idea, we'll meet at the infirmary to take the brat to th-..."

A green spandex wearing blur suddenly appeared between them and shouted, "OUR VILLAGERS ARE EXCERSISING THEIR ABUNDANCE OF THE SPRING TIME OF YOUTH OVER THE DEFEAT OF THE MOST UNYOUTHFUL KYUUBI! MAY OUR GOOD ANBU FOLK JOIN THEM?"

(The two Anbu fell off the wall and were treated for a concussion and mild hearing loss shortly after)

When two Anbu limped out of the hospital, it was already night time.

"Ah..lets go..." Raven muttered darkly.

The two entered the the infirmary, Cat-face going toward the third floor while Raven stayed on the ground floor.

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Raven examined the cribs, "Huh, Aburame Shino, Aido Teyru, Arey Hetierasho...BLAST THIS IS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER!"

'Ah shit, I gotta meet up with Cat-face', he thought as he flew up the stairs.

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Cat-face was wandering around in a dark room when he saw a sign illuminated by moonlight.

It read, "This area is for pregnant women only, if you are not here to conceive a child kindly...get the hell out...Thank you, The Medical Staff."

Cat-face sweat-dropped as he hobbled out.

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Just as Cat-face left the room, Raven got to the top of the stairs and crashed into him.

Raven asked eagerly, "Did you find him?"

Cat-face looked down and muttered, "Ah...I got lost and kinda ended up in the birthing area...and uh.."

Raven sighed, infuriated at the incompetence that was his partner, and pointed to the left, "There's the stair case, lets get to the third floor."

The two Anbu crept silently up to the top infirmary room with their ninja skills, until at the top, Cat-face tripped on a stair and crashed into a crib.

Raven buried his head into his hands and wept. (These are Konoha's elite Anbu teams, yes siree Bob!)

"DAMMIT, THATS NOT HOW YOU FALL, REMEMBER OUR LESSONS? IF YOU FALL YOU ROLL TO BREAK THE IMPACT!" Raven screamed, waking every baby in the complex. As they're wails shook the building's very foundations, the two Anbu started pulling babies from their cribs, "Naruto? No...Naki...Naruto? No..Nami...Naruto? No...Narutc...wait...theres a smudge, OI I FOUND NARUTO!"

Raven looked up and snatched the baby from Cat-face's hands and breaking a window and tumbling out, Cat-face following his lead. This thoughtless action caused alarms to blare out, announcing to everyone in a three mile radius that someone had just raided the infirmary. Okay, so the whole of Konoha is only about three miles wide, but thats not the point!

Sprinting, the two Anbu hurtled over the wall before they made it out of the city as a team of Jounin broke into the nursery and a barrage fireworks lit up the sky.

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The next morning Sarutobi was short one jinchurikki and two Anbu.

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Cat-face and Raven noticed the vegatation thinning as the air grew more humid and bodies of water appeared. Finally, the pair were stopped at the channel separating the island nation of Water from the rest of the world. Channeling chakra to their feet, the two ANBU proceeded to run right across the channel. A mere fifteen minutes later, the two touched down onto Water Country soil. They grinned, having made it to their objective. Raven stepped forward with the baby when his sharp eyes suddenly saw a sign that had been planted on the beach.

It said, "Welcome to the Water Country, If you are not a Mist-Nin go ahead and turn around and go back where you came from."

The two Anbu sweatdropped as Raven handed the baby to Cat-face.

Cat-face looked at him curiously, "What do I do now?" he asked.

Raven shook his head, "I dunno..."

So Cat-face went and punted the little boy into the Water Country.

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A three year old Haku heard a cry of "BAKA!" before a little bundled child landed infront of her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**_And Just so I don't forget...at the time of reposting this story, TL4S had 40210 words, 25 chapters and an author's note, 144003 hits, 59 C2s, 296 reviews, 163 favs and 285 alerts._**

_**I also copied and pasted the six pages of the most recent reviews for TL4S to mine for inspiration...xd, and to remind me I had people who liked this story before!**_

_**I'm depressed cuz people hate my Providence story which reeks of the INSPIRATION OF YOUTH! Maybe I just answered my own 'question'...stupid youth...**_

_**Also, I actually forgot a part when I posted this story the first time. It'll be good...violence for everyone.  
**_

_**I also get to correct spelling errors, mainly Kohona and Sauske. Fun fun fun.**_

Follow the Reaper : umm... its WATER COUNTRY, NOT MIST COUNTRY... and also water country is an island... check wikipedia search: naruto geography...

Sure, why not, it sounds like you know whats going on. I was always confused about that. Theres the wave country...the water country...the Mist-nins... Apparently the map I was referencing colored the 'neutral' territory...pale blue or something, and colored the Water country the same color. Meh whatever. In anycase, this is fan _fiction_ so I wouldn't get too stressed. Well, I guess its back to editing. (Problem fixed, thx)

Scienceboy : You can? Oh, well then...I had no idea. I'm rewriting this because it make ME wince when I read it. Grammar and spelling are semi-important to me, and I can't stand to read things with out them. In any case, its good to see you  


Deadulus : Heh, I wrote these chapters a year ago, I'm just doing some spit and polish under a new name. And like Scienceboy asked, I never realized you could change your pen-name. The humor might seem rushed...but I have no idea what you're talking about. Is it not thought out well? Because if so, this would have been more helpful a year ago . Well I'll see what I can do, and if you could do me a favor, can you describe the problem a bit better?  


_**'Kay!  
**_

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**An Original A/N: Right now Kyuubi won't be part of this, he'll be mentioned when Naruto reaches Konoha...eventually **

**Also, 3 out of 7 swordsmen have been introduced in the anime/maga.**

**1. Zabuza (Wave Arc)**

**Trademarks: Big-ass sword, known as the Devil of the Mist, has bandages on mouth, specializes in the Silent Kill, Has taken Haku in as an apprentice (Haku is 3 whereas Zabuza is 18 and Naruto is one week old right now)  
**

**2.Kisame (Akatsuki)**

**Trademarks: Shark Like with gills, Sword is named Samehade, Blue Hair, Motto is 'It does not Slice, IT SHAVES.' (Hangs out with Itachi in Anime, doesnt matter here)**

**3.Raiga (Fillers)**

**Trademarks: Sword channels electricity, has a little girl named Ranmaru to help him see, Ranmaru is looked in a bean shaped thing on his back, he dies in my fic. :(**

**He also dies in the Anime, but thats not related...much.  
**

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Somewhere over the rainbowwwwww...

Okay, so its actually in some random forest, sue me.

Haku looked down with wide eyes and stuttered, (You would too if your a three year old and babies started falling from the sky...) "z-z-Z-ZABUZAAAAAA!"

Two miles away, Zabuza looked up from his training before sighing, 'Damn, Haku probably lost his rabbit again...'

Sheathing his sword that he had used to cut a swath through the forest while fending off imaginary missing-nins, he was about to head toward the source of the ear shattering shout before he thought of something. Making a Mizu Bunshin, Zabuza set it to picking up the quality firewood he had quite accidently produced.

When he finally found Haku's location, he saw the girl hiding behind a tree and peeking at a bundle on the ground. Zabuza looked down at the bundle snorted. "Jeez, its only a newborn baby."

Raising his voice he shouted, "HAKU! Get over here! Look at you, you scaredy cat! Pissing yourself over this baby..."

Looking at her more sharply he wondered, "Where'd this idiot come from anyway?"

Haku mutely pointed upwards.

Zabuza rolled his eyes, 'Figures...'

Inspecting the baby more closely Zabuza muttered 'Uzumaki Naruto, I guess thats the gaki's name or something...'

'Well I can't let this little guy die here and I'm sure that he'll be of use. Might as well take him with us'

Turning back to Haku, he barked, "Okay Haku," he called out, "Get the kid and bring it back to the base. Afterwards, run five laps around the perimeters of the house before reporting in for target practice"

Haku nodded affirmative, "Yes sir!"

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The barracks that the Seven Swordsmen used as their base was comfortable, if not outright luxurious. The room had dark wooden trimming, a miniature fountain, thick furry carpets, marble statues, paintings of the ocean, plush chairs, an extremely expensive electric fireplace, and most important of all...a sword rack.

Zabuza walked in, deftly mounting his sword onto the wall, on his part of the rack. Behind him was Haku carrying the baby boy christened Naruto. Zabuza saw Kisame was sitting watching the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate. Smirking, he prodded, "Hey shark boy, hows your day? Kill any more fish?"

Kisame looked horrified taking on a high pitched voice, "Shut your trap you horrible bandage-face! For your information, I killed another dozen of the Kayuga clan!

Suddenly coughing, he finished his sentence with a spluttering, "Um, well wha'd you do?"

Zabuza shrugged, as if today was just like any other day. "My apprentice found a kid who fell from the sky. And I collected firewood."

Looking out the window, Kisame suddenly noticed a mountain of logs slightly taller then the building itself. 'Eh? How'd that get there?'

Turning back, Kisame turned his attention to the boy before remember what Zabuza had just said.

He sweatdropped, "Ah, of course, because babies fall out of the sky every day and this is completely normal!"

Zabuza knew what Kisame meant. It was something more like this : "Zabuza...what the fucks going on here?"

"You want him? He's a kid, I'm sure you can raise him okay."

Kisame snorted. "Bah, I'm a lone wolf, rescuer of damsels, defender of fish, gambler of moderately good luck..."

Zabuza stared at him. Kisame winced.

Zabuza kept staring. Finally Kisame muttered, "You know that creepy staring scares me."

Zabuza grinned wryly, "Well of course I know."

Twitching Kisame, broke eye contact before saying resignedly, "Fine, I'll take a look at him."

Zabuza passed the bundle to him, and he was faced with a little bald kid who started poking him.

Kisame smirked as he read the tag. "Huh, name's Naruto eh?"

Examining the baby's arms and legs, Kisame grinned a toothy grin. "Meh. I guess I do need an apprentice to continue bothering you once I'm dead and gone..."

'At least he doesn't look gay like Ranmaru (or Haku would if he wasn't a girl in my fic, I think its a trademark...)'

As Kisame continued to examine the boy, the baby cooed something that almost sounded like : "Fishy-san!"

Kisame twitched.

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6 Years Later

"KISAME-SENSAI, I DID IT!" Naruto shouted.

"NANI?! It took you ONLY AN HOUR?!" Kisame shouted back, shocked. Even if experience dictated that the boy could perform miracles, it was still a jolt to actually have him work his magic.

"Umm...yea...is that good?" Naruto said shakily.

"Ye- I mean...um...no...not at all...you suck...SHOW ME!"

Jumping back, Naruto took a breath, before mentally counting to five and yelled out "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"

A medium sized dragon rose out of the near by pond and started floating around in the air, and Kisame had eyes the size and shape of saucers and was looking rather speechless.

Zabuza was passing by with Haku in tow on their way to stick poor marionettes full of needles and other sharp objects.

Zabuza looked at Kisame and said in an impressed voice, "Looks like he was a good find huh?"

Kisame waved him off, "Bah! It was FATE that brought us together!"

Zabuza snorted back, "Hell, you wouldn't have met the idiot if **I **hadn't found him!"

He was rewarded with a smack to the head as Haku threw her two cents in, "Hmph, more like if _**I **_hadn't found him."

Naruto twitched as the three fought over who took credit for finding him. It was like they were arguing who got to use the bathroom first again or something.

Coughing loudly, the got the trios attention before glaring at the three.

The argument blazing so brilliantly before instantly faltered.

Giving the others a wary glance, Haku started pacing while fiddling with a senbon in between her fingers.

"So was he a good find or what?"

Taking care Naruto didn't hear him, Kisame whispered back, "Kinda, he has no chakra control what so ever so he ends up putting way to much chakra into everything. This why he can do **Mizubushin** but not **Bushin** and why he can do **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu** but not henge, its odd. In fact, its abnormal."

Zabuza shrugged, "Tis horrible, yeah. Able to do useful jutsus and not the crappy ones. Just horrible."

As the two men talked, Haku looked at Naruto, and winked at him, causing Naruto the blush and 'accidentally' send the dragon after Kisame.

The next 10 minutes was spent watching Naruto parry, dodge, and run the hell away from a 'the-opposite-of-happy' Kisame. The pair (Zabuza and Haku) couldn't suppress a laugh at the sight of the evil shark man chase a six year old around the campus.

The chase ended with Naruto being hit with the hilt of the Samehade and falling face first into the pond that his water dragon had spawned out of.

"Dammit, I'll out run you one day."

Zabuza snorted and beckoned to Haku, "Come on Haku lets go."

"Okay Zabuza-Sensai," said Haku as she waved to Naruto, causing him to blush again.

Kisame leered at Naruto, Ooo so my little Naru-Chan has got a GIRLFRIEND, looks like he's all grownup."

Naruto looked at him confused, "Girlfriend? Whats that?"

Kisame looked back, dumbfounded. "You don't k-...bah what ever. Fine then, to punish your idiocy, I'm going to double you weights to forty pounds and run twenty-five laps around this complex and you will then do fifty push ups, twenty-five pull ups, and seventy-five curl ups."

"I'm not an idiot...wait a second...NANI!?"

"Yep" Kisame laughed.

_Insert Muttered Incoherant Curses Unsuitable For This Rating  
_

Chuckling, Kisame muttered, "Yep, Zabuza was right, torture IS fun..."

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	3. Chapter 3

**Ch. 3**

**Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto. In fact my monkey owns more than me.**

**Demondog666 : Hey, this Suigetsu person sounds like he'd fit perfectly...as the 'big' villain of the story. A second Orochimaru if you will. Hell he even gets his own village...now what can that be?**

**Unlovedpacifist : You'll be the death of me yet, with your stupid 'spellchecking' :P. Just to help me, copy and paste the sentence with the error so I don't have to search for it. I happen to suffer from CSS or Chronic Shikamaru Syndrome :)  
**

**What I need to figure out is how the Sound and the Akatsuki figure in this...but wait...yeah, I've got it.**

* * *

**It has come to my attention that theres a morally upright man out there ripping off my story :  
**

_1. The 10 Swordsman of the blood » reviews_

_On the day of Kyuubi's sealing, Naruto is kidnapped and left for dead in the Mist. There he will finds a group willing to raise him and eventually joins will join Four Swords of the Mist . He grows and thrives with his new family, until one day they are  
Naruto - Fiction Rated: K - English - Adventure/General - Chapters: 4 - Words: 1,404 - Reviews: 4 - Updated: 7-18-07 - Published: 7-18-07_

**Look familiar? Yep, my fic has become so 'great' within two days, that this this guy (Crystalique Fairy) decided it be cool to copy it.**

**Just for kicks, I'm gonna go ahead and give a sample :**

On the day of Kyuubi's sealing, Naruto is kidnapped and left for dead in the Mist. There he will finds a group willing to raise him and eventually joins will join Four Swords of the Mist . He grows and thrives with his new family, until one day they are betrayed..

There were throngs of cheering people -civilians- surrounding the Hokage Monument on this otherwise quiet evening. They gazed at the Sandaime who was standing on the Yondaime's head. Raising his hand, the Sandaime motioned for the crowd below him to be silent. Taking a deep breath, he started speaking : "Today, on the Ninth Day since the appearance of the fox known only as the Kyuubi, we witness something thought impossible. What we have seen tonight is...the defeat of the demon, KYUUBI NO KITSUNE!-", Sarutobi, the Sandaime, paused as he watched the crowds cheer, "However, this victory at a great cost to our dear lord Hokage, the late Yondaime. This day, he has sacrificed his own life to help our village destroy the menace of Kyuubi. He has sacrificed his own soul to the Shinigami to seal Kyuubi into a newborn, named Uzumaki Naruto, who will be considered a HERO OF THIS VILLAGE!"

As the crowd cheered louder, two men stationed on guard duty looked at each other,one who is called Kakashi, the other, Jiraiya. Kakashi whispered into Jiraiya's ears, "Hey Jiraiya , I'm gonna kill that brat 'Uzumaki Naruto' tonight, while he still helpless."

"Err...why are you going around killing newborns?"

Kakashi gawked, "You heard Hokage-sama, thats not a newborn, its CLEARLY a reincarnation of the Kyuubi!"

Jiraiya's nodded sagely. Yes that made perfect sense. Not. "Wha?"

Kakashi signed, "Hokage-sama said Kyuubi was sealed into that stupid, so doesn't it make sense at the brat would be influenced by Kyuubi? He'll probably end up following in that monster's footsteps finish the job!"

**It's also almost an exact copy paste of my first paragraph. He added one sentence, edited two sentences, and changed the names Raven and Cat-face to Kakashi and Jiraiya. w00t.  
**

**Now of course, this guy reviewed his own story responding to ADD Kyuubi's question about mine and his/her's story's similarity.  
**

**This is what he said _: I see, sorry about that i was confused. Ill try changing some stuff in the ch4 one. Thank you for the review_**

**Let me help define that. "I see, I'm sorry my story seems similar to another story. I'll try changing some stuff next time so you can't tell. Thx for alerting me of this."**

**And hey, he added something on the end of chapter 2. **

_Chapter 3 Forum Air Time:I am not sure , i might do 3 today and release it tommrow :p_

_While i am talking about chapters i would like u to know there will be over 20 chapters _

**Could this be because I posted that there were 26 chapters along with 1 author's note? No. Way. **

**In case you can't tell, I'm not appreciative of this nor am I amused. Because you're sure as hell taking my ideas as I post them, I'd advise Crystalique to remove his story.**

**Update : Jesus Christ...this guy has no shame...**

1. Naruto awaits a better future » More into the summary coming soon. 2 anbu attempt do to different things with the naruto and his future will change soon. I am sorry Godentine i had no idea i copied the name and the summary, a friend had given it to me because i couldn't think of a name.

**And naturally, the story remains...mine. Just not the summary or the title now...-.-. Mein gott (My god in German...)****  
**

**I have filed for abuse and I'd be grateful if any of you took the time to encourage the deletion of this copied story. - Godentine.**

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**Story Begins Here**

A week after Kisame's unfortunate little incident with the Water Dragon, Kisame and Naruto were playing a game of hide and seek. Or maybe it was, 'NARUTO, GIVE ME MY SWORD BACK OR I'M GOING TO SKEWER YOU!'

I forgot which, but thats okay...right?

Naruto had been elusive, ducking into the lake, running into the swamps, locking himself in the bathroom and escaping through an air vent... But what he didn't count on was the fact that Zabuza and Haku were practicing disabling joints with senbon. When he had run by the side of the house, Zabuza shouted, "Ohmygod Haku, A MOVING TARGET! GET HIM!"

Reflexively, Haku had thrown her senbon immobilizing him, the Samehade bouncing out of his hands. Just as Haku was about to gasp in horror, she and her teacher noticed Kisame charging at Naruto with murderous intent.

Instantly, Haku and Zabuza disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Desperately, Naruto threw the senbon embedded in his ankle at Kisame's face. What he didn't count on was the Shark Man catching the projectile with his teeth and spitting back at him. He barely managed to dodge it before he was sent crashing into the barracks walls. In a fit of rage Kisame had smacked him with the hilt of his sword shortly after he had been reunited with his beloved weapon.

Seeing Naruto woozy, Kisame gave him a vicious kick. Instead of causing Naruto to bend over in pain, Naruto suppressed it and immediately got up, ready to defend against the next blow.

Kisame smiled proudly. "Finally got rule thirteen drilled into your head huh?"

Naruto gritted his teeth as he recalled rule thirteen "_Never give your opponent an opening._"

Of course, that rule had an unspoken but acknowledged tail : "_and if he gets an opening, fix it you moron..."_.

Putting Naruto into a headlock, Kisame announced, "Well, you seem to have shown improvement. I have a new exercise for you." 

Breaking from Kisame's hold, Naruto instantly brightened. 'Alright, a new technique!'

Naruto giddily asked, "What, what, what!?"

Kisame smirked. "I've decided I want you to suck less so I going to have you practice walking on water."

Naruto stared at him in amazement. Kisame could tell what was running through his head, 'Wow, finally! I always wondered how Zabuza and Kisame fight on top of the lake when they spar!'

As the excitement slowly died down, Naruto took on a more serious face and asked, "How do I do that?"

Kisame explained, "You have to keep the chakra flow from your feet to the bottom of the lake constant and at a certain level."

Naruto blinked, clearly not having understood a word he said.

Elaborating, Kisame continued, "Basically you expel chakra from your feet to use as stilts, so if you use to much the your chakra will lift you too high and you will lose your concentration and balance and fall. If you dont use enough though, you will sink, so you need to CONTROL the amount of chakra used."

To Kisame's chagrin, that only seemed to make Naruto more confused.

"Hows that help..." Naruto asked cluelessly.

Kisame's normally blue face took on a strange purple hue as he muttered clenching his teeth "GAH, THIS...TECH...NIQUE...WILL...HELP...YOU...-"

His lungs deflated as the color to his face was slowly being restored. '_Come on Kisame, stress management, you can do this...1...2...3...4...'_

By the time he had reached ten, not only was his facial color back to normal, he also seemed oddly happy. '_Yep, those anger management classes were worth every penny!'_

He finished his sentence in relative calm and peace, "-regulate the amount of chakra used in a jutsu so you dont waste any chakra. That way you can last longer in fights."

"Heh, I knew that...I was just testing you."

Kisame narrowed his eyes. "B.S."

Continuing, Kisame said, "Right, and to motivate you, If you learn this before I learn to cook squid properly, I'll teach you one of my personal jutsus, Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Shark Missile Techique), and if you don't I'll double - no - TRIPLE your weights"

"Is the jutsu strong?" Naruto asked.

"It's considered B Rank." said Kisame grinning, "And way to good for a brat like you."

"In that case...I can definitely get this thing _way _before you learn how to cook!"

As Kisame started to walk away, Naruto suddenly thought, 'That bastard must have no confidence in me at all, betting one of his secret jutsus like that... I have to show him that he can't afford to underestimate me!'

As he walked away Kisame's thoughts ran along similar lines, 'Jeez, he has no confidence in my cooking what so ever... I didn't know I was that bad...Hah, I'll teach him to underestimate the culinary skills of the great Kisame!'

Suddenly, Naruto called out behind him, "Isn't squid a sort of fish?!"

Kisame promptly fainted.

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Eyeing the lake warily, Naruto began the chakra control excercise. Concentrating chakra to his feet, he tenetively took a step forward. To his amazement, his foot seemed to float on the surface of the water.

With buoyed confidence, Naruto put his full weight on the foot resulting in him falling into the lake head-over-heels.

Underwater, he tried once again, this time focusing a large burst chakra to his feet. His decision shot him out of the water, propelling him into a large rock conviently situated in front of the lake. 'God dammit.'

Rubbing a slight bump on his head, Naruto puffed out his chest in mock dignity. Closing his eyes and relying on instinct, he channeled chakra to his feet again.

His instinct proved to be completely wrong and to his annoyance, he sank faster than he had before.

Dragging himself out of the lake with sopping wet clothes he glared at the lake, who mocked him back with its peaceful waves and splashes.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"YOU DAMN LAKE, IM GOING TO WALK ON YOU WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT...!"

The outburst came out of nowhere, but afterwards, Naruto felt a new surge of confidence and once again tried to walk on water. This time he managed to stay on top...almost half a second...before he fell in again.

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Meanwhile...Kisame had gotten up and was badmouthing the outrageously stubborn squid who simply refused to be cooked. Indeed, while this ninja had cut down hundreds of enemy shinobi, a mere squid was defying his more determined spearheads in its cooking.

"YOU STUPID SQUID, I'M GOING TO COOK YOU WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. NOW STAY AND STOP SLIPPING OUT OF MY BLOODY HAND YOU..."

Muttering darkly, Kisame's eyes glowed red as the squid slipped out of his hands and landed on his perfectly spiked hair.

Long story short, Kisame's rate of progress was similar to Naruto's.

And that it was indeed a typical day in the lives of the Seven Swordsman.

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Naruto still hadn't managed to stand on the pond more than five seconds. He saw Raiga passing through the courtyard, back from his mission and waved. "Hey Raiga-san, howsit?"

"Ha, today was a good day, I'm bringing home 10,000 ryou! That new flat screen TV is so mine!"

Naruto sweatdropped. "Thank you for...the information I suppose."

Looking at the swordsman pleadingly, Naruto asked, "Raiga-san, do you know why I can't walk on water with out falling in?"

Raiga winked creepily. "You either need more chakra to hold you up, or you're too heavy."

Naruto thought about it before grinning. "Too heavy...haha, why didn't I think of that?"

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Meanwhile in the kitchen, Kisame was humming to himself. "Lets see, according to this recipe we need...(**A/N :'Sweatdrop'...I DONT KNOW TO COOK SQUID**) sauce... and other stuff...and umm...squid. Yeah, the squids important."

"Ok then, first pour the sauce into the pan then chop the squid into many pieces..."

Kisame brought out his Samehada, twirling it cloth sheath in one fluid move and chopped down, causing the squid explode as well as splitting the chopping board and cracking the kitchen counter.

'Oh shit'

"Hey Zabuza, how the hell do you chop this thing, my sword's not working..."

Zabuza twitched looking at Kisame splattered with squid guts, holding a giant sword about as tall as he was standing behind a counter that had almost been split in half.

"Um, use a knife?"

"Ah...yes...haha, why didn't I think of that?"

"Ooo! I know! Its because...**_you're a nitwit_**."

"Shut up."

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Naruto had gotten out of his cloak, his plated shirt, his weighted undershirt, his weighted pants, his weighted armbands, and legbands, leaving him with a light vest and boxers.

At that unfortunate and mildly embarrassing moment, Haku had just happened to pass by in her search for Zabuza and got a mild nosebleed. Quickly covering her face, she had run away from the scene, hoping to god that Naruto hadn't spotted her.

Fifteen minutes later, we see a tired Naruto standing on the water. His eyes glowed with pride of the singular fact that he wasn't sinking! Smiling happily he shouted, "YATTA, I DID IT!".

Just to see what would happen if he went a step further, Naruto took a step forward to be greeted with a splash of water and swarms of fish.

'God dammit'

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Kisame had finally figured out how to chop squid and had gone out of his way to procure a second one. After successfully cutting it into pieces, he was now working on how to light the old gas stove with a match.

After multiple tries (numbering in the hundreds) he finally succeeded, only to drop the match. His face fell as the match extinguish it self before producing so much as a puff of smoke.

Kisame swore and started trying to light it again.

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Naruto tried again for the next four hours and he finally managed to walk from one end of the pond to the other. By the time he was done, he was suffering from mild chakra depletion and it was nighttime.He started to run into the building to rub it in Kisame's face he managed to do it, but he and Kisame collided midway.

In unison, the two shouted "Ha! I did it!"

Both Kisame and Naruto were shocked and understandably so. Kisame stuttered, "D-did you really learn Water Walking in one day?"

Naruto smirked arrogantly, "Well what did you expect of the great Uzumaki Naruto? But what really gets to me is, did you really manage to cook something?"

Kisame countered with just as much arrogance, "Of course, nothing can't be conquered my the awe inspiring Hoshigaki Kisame!"

Sauntering up to Naruto, Kisame looked downward and smirked, "So it seems that we've tied eh? So how 'bout I teach you some more advanced swordsmanship and you put on another forty pounds in weights."

Naruto shot back, "Are you insane? Hell no, I want that jutsu and you better give it up y-..."

Seeing the frigid look on Kisame's face, Naruto's resolve faltered. "What I meant to say is, of course Kisame-sensei, what ever you say!"

Grinning Kisame patted Naruto on the back. Apparently he had hit the boy a little too hard, and Naruto promptly collapsed on the ground. Further examination by the shark man revealed him to be fast asleep.

"Well," Kisame reflected as he carried the boy off,"the kid worked hard."

Not everyone can learn an advanced Chakra Control technique in one day.

But then, not everyone can cook as bad as Kisame either.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chap. 4 **

**Disclaimer : I Don't not never own Naruto**

**Original A/N :Also I've decided it would be HakuxNaru and ZabuxAnko **

**ZabuXAnko is a big maybe, because frankly...Anko is a little weird, and while people manage it, unless the person shes flirting with is clinically insane, nobody in their right mind would date Anko. But like I said, people manage it, and its usually NarutoXAnko in that case. Or possibly IrukaXAnko. They just don't give any reason why they're together :).**

**ADD Kyuubi Naruto : Thats because chapter four wasn't out yet...I accidentally had put it up before taking it down to edit. Sorry about that.**

**Darthme1011 : Yeah, NaruFemhaku**

**Demonkid : Hey! Your wish came true! I didn't really do anything for you, I'm just editing chapters...but it seems that we were thinking along the same lines:)  
**

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_One Month Later_

Sunlight filtered through the window blinds as Naruto rubbed his eyes. Looking around groggily, Naruto sat up, confused. 'Blerb...Where the hell am I?"

Seconds turned to minutes as he stared at his surroundings. passed... Naruto smacked his head with his hand. 'Oh yeah...this is...my room, isn't it?'

Staring at the navy blue walls, now utterly devoid of orange, Naruto sighed. 'Stupid Kisame, repainting my room.'

Looking at his bookshelf, now mounted with stuffed beanie babies, Naruto muttered, "-and adding his stupid Shark Plushie collection to my bookshelf..."

Cursing at his misfortune, he changed and went to brush his teeth. He then went down stairs for breakfast to see a grinning Kisame bursting with excitement and five other sullen swordsmen along with Haku, who smiled at him. "What are you so happy about sensei?"

Kisame grinned showing off pointy teeth and annouced, "After a month of intense experimenting and practicing, I've managed to make _edible_ squid, not crap (Zabuza shook his head violently), not** remotely **edible, (Haku rolled her eyes) but **_edible_** (Raiga gagged)!"

Right as he finished, the seventh swordsman walked in, grabbing a piece of squid before popping it into his mouth. Naruto watched in interest as the man suddenly ran outside holding his stomach, before wincing at the retching noise.

Noting the ominous signs concerning Kisame's so-called edible squid, Naruto said "I'll pass..."

"Excellent, more for me then!" Kisame said giddily.

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After breakfast, Naruto and Haku reported to the training grounds, followed by their respective senseis. Zabuza was noticeably hungry, made evident by the fact he was holding his stomach and groaning constantly.

Kisame sniffed, "You should've eaten more."

After he had recovered from his stomach lurches, Zabuza leaned on his sword to broadcast today's lesson. "Okay guys, Lesson One, Taijutsu! When and if disarmed of your weapon, you must be able to fight with your body. This is your first lesson Naruto will be sparring with Kisame and Haku with me using taijutsu only. This is to gauge your abilities in this art." _(Author : Cause art is bang! Yeah! )_

His eyes hardening, Zabuza growled, "Get ready now..."

Both Naruto and Haku visibly tensed.

"GO!"

Kisame ran forward, feigning a punch at Naruto, before sliding systematically into a sweep kick. Taken off guard, Naruto managed to turn his fall into a series of back flips before turning to face Kisame again. "Almost got me there sensei!"

Deciding to attack head on, Naruto closed in on Kisame before launching a flurry of punches. With no trouble at all, Kisame dodged each one, redirecting the last punch toward the ground. As Naruto fell forward, Kisame swung his right leg around, aiming for the back of Naruto's head. To his surprise, Naruto had twisted his torso around while falling and caught Kisame's leg with his hands.

Kisame swung his leg wildly, managing throwing Naruto off. Springing up, Naruto grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground before leaping onto the roof. From there, he catapaulted off the platform before landing on Kisame's head.

Smearing the dirt into the Shark Man's eyes, Naruto gave him a powerful uppercut, sending Kisame reeling. Pressing his advantage, Naruto headbutted Kisame's chest before kneeing him in the stomach. He followed up with a sharp chop to the face before finishing with a kick to Kisame's crotch.

Tumbling away, Naruto was panting as he watched Kisame get up, not fazed at all. Rubbing his eyes, Kisame grinned sharkishly, "A dirty little trick, Naru-chan, but you're gonna have to do better than that to hurt big, bad, Kisame."

Grimacing, Naruto found the string that secured his ninety pounds of weights.Giving it a determined tug, the weights fell off, sending a small shock-wave through the earth.

Kisame sweatdropped as the boy charged toward him, twice as fast as before. 'That was unexpected...and rather intelligent. Damn...'

Naruto, instead of his usual punches decided to tackle Kisame's legs instead. However, because he was lighter than before, his blows weren't nearly as forceful and he was tossed away when Kisame flicked his foot upwards.

Rolling away, he ran around Kisame. This time, he reinforced his arm with chakra, in hopes of causing actual damage, before he attempted to ram it into Kisame's back.

Kisame sighed as he jumped up into the air, avoiding Naruto's attack completely. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Naruto's smirk. 'Mah...it looks like he planned ahead.'

In accordance with his makeshift plan, Naruto picked up the weights he had thrown off before. Using the string, he whirled it around his head like a ball and chain before letting it fly at Kisame.

Kisame smiled as he saw the boy's makeshift weapon. 'Huh, I can't dodge. Maybe he isn't so dumb anymore...-but its still not good eno**ugh!**' Even as the weights spun toward him, Kisame was already bringing his arms out in front of him. As soon as it was with in arm's length, Kisame took hold of it, jerking it backwards before hurling it back to earth, making sure that it was far out of Naruto's reach.

Landing, Kisame finally decided to go on the offensive. His first punch grazed Naruto's head. Naruto, seeing Kisame's guard down, quickly moved to jab Kisame in the stomach. With his other hand, Kisame caught Naruto's wrist before the punch could hit and threw the boy at the barracks wall. As Naruto slid off, looking exhausted, thin spiderweb cracks had appeared in the wall.

Kisame charged forward, throwing another punch at Naruto. It was met by Naruto's open hand, as was his second punch. The two struggled for a second before Kisame let his legs give out. Taking care to fall forward, Kisame used his height and weight advantage to simply overwhelm the boy.

Naruto groaned as the Shark Man sat on top of him. "Bastard, you weren't even trying. And that was unfair."

Kisame shrugged, "All is fair in love and war. And hey, in this case you only lose your life..."

Smirking Kisame added, "Besides, it not my fault you're such a shrimp."

Naruto glared at him, "I'm six."

Kisame snorted, 'Excuses...'

Zabuza's fight had been over long before. Zabuza was looking on with interest as Naruto was finally beaten by Kisame. "Your little chump put up quite a fight huh?"

Kisame played along, "Nah, I've seen fish put up more of a fight than Naruto."

Snickering Naruto cackled, "Yeah, like that squid you made a month ago. I heard from Zabuza how much of a fight it put up."

Ignoring, the obvious barb toward his cooking skills, Kisame smacked Naruto on the head.

Zabuza continued, "In any case, even with Naruto's impressive showing, I've decided, _**You All Suck**_!"

Haku twitched in annoyance, "Well obviously. You guys have much more experience than us and much more training. It would be a miracle in itself if we did win."

Kisame ribbed Naruto, "Hey Naruto, you should consider following her example. She has actual respect...You know what that is right?"

Naruto sniffed, "Its not that I don't give you respect, its just that you don't deser-"

Clamping his hand over Naruto's mouth, Kisame grinned sadistically. "Seeing as you're in such good spirits after our fight, I've judged that we're going to double your weights again."

Naruto looked horrified. "WHAT THE F--K?" Naruto screamed through Kisame's fingers, loudly enough to cause Zabuza to wince.

Kisame acting like doubling ninety pounds of weights was a trivial thing, Kisame answered, "Welcome to life, kid."

Turning to Haku, Kisame asked in a nicer tone, "Now Haku, do you wear weights?"

"N-No..." Haku stammered slightly embarrassed.

Kisame pursed his lips, 'Thats not good.'

"Well Zabuza, I'd say to start her off with twenty pounds."

Zabuza looked a little surprised, "Are you sure she can handle that Kisame?"

Smiling again, Kisame chirped, "Nope! But anything that doesn't kill us must make us stronger, right?!"

Naruto smiled wryly at Haku, "A real confidence builder, eh? Don't worry, twenty pounds isn't much. You'll get used to it real fast."

Seeing Naruto's attempt at reassurance, Kisame put in, "Oh, and if it makes you feel better, Naruto will have 180 pounds on."

Naruto groaned, "Thanks for reminding me..."

Thinking for a moment Naruto complained "Wait...are you serious? 180 pounds is almost twice as much as I weight now!"

Kisame tapped his navy blue cloak, which produced a dull clinking noise. "Eight-hundred pounds right here."

Zabuza snorted before pointing to his arm braces, "Only eight-hundred? You sissy. Three hundred an arm, two hundred a leg."

As the additional weights were tied on to Naruto's chest and limbs, Naruto mumbled, "This is child abuse..."

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Two weeks later, Naruto was called to Training Ground 05. Ever since the fight, Naruto had seen a huge leap in the amount of focus he put into his training. The difference of strength between himself and Kisame had sparked a one-sided rivalry. Though Kisame wasn't really aware of it, Naruto compared everything he ever did to the Sharkman's. Each time he fell short, it only served to make him more aware of his deficiencies and how to remedy them.

As an unexpected reward of his hard work, Kisame had finally decided Naruto was ready for it. When Naruto found Kisame at the training ground, he was greeted with a toothy smile and eyes glinting with expectation. It was with pride that Kisame presented Naruto his first sword, one crafted of the finest wood in the region, to be used for training, though it was suitable for actual combat.

With a smile threatening to eclipse his face, Kisame congratulated Naruto on his advancement, "I've decided its high time you've started to learn the noble -and romantic- art of swordsmanship, Naruto. The amount of work you've spent bettering yourself has only impressed upon me more firmly that you have started to take your career as a ninja seriously. From now on, you are officially my apprentice."

Naruto gasped at the last part. Apprenticeship under a powerful ninja, especially one so renowned, was no small matter. It was almost like an glorified adoption, but something...more. It was recognition by somebody that you could one day become well versed in their art. Whether it was being a ninja, a black smith or a chef, an apprenticeship was a huge step in an aspiring novice's education and the unlocking of their ability.

Though outwardly stoic, Kisame himself was bursting with delight, and lightly patted Naruto on the head.

"Now Naruto, I'm going to give you a sample of the things you're going to be able to do when you finally graduate from my tutelage..."

Twirling the wooden sword, Kisame threw it like a boomerang, sawing a tree in half, before the sword made a U-turn in midair, returning back to his outstretched hand. It was like he was proving that even a simple wooden thing, in the hands of an experienced user, could become a deadly weapon. And it was true.

Naruto watched open mouthed as Kisame did more parlor tricks with his wooden sword, parting the waters in the lake, creating a fissure in the ground with a single thrust downward, even spinning the sword fast enough that Naruto was blown backwards.

Tossing the sword to Naruto, Kisame took his Samehade out. "You're first lesson is the basic stabbing motion using a sword. Being a fairly basic and simple attack, it can easily be chained into a combination attack. Watch this."

Choosing another tree, Kisame took his Samehade before running the blade through the tree, before whipping the sword out and flicking the tip, creating a slash on the tree's bark. Whirling around, the sword came back in a 360 degree circle, leaving a cut mark four inches deep. Spinning around again, Samehade flew out of Kisame's hand, perforating the tree like a chainsaw.

"If that was a real person, I would have stabbed them through the stomach, slashed their throat, split their body in half before impaling their head with my sword."

Naruto, taking his sword, went ahead and tried to copy Kisame. The stab went fine, but when he attempted to flick the sword's tip, the sword flew out of his hand, embedding in the ground behind him.

Kisame shook his head, "In time Naruto, you are not comfortable enough with this weapon or are you skilled enough. As I was saying before, the first lesson is simply a stabbing motion."

Handing Naruto a book, Kisame specified, "On page thirty-four is a diagram on the human body and its weak points. I want you to memorize them as well as practicing the stabbing the specific points and organs on the training dummies. There are eight major points and each are to be hit fifty times."

Barreling on, Kisame continued, "After that, practice the stabbing and slashing motions one hundred times each, described on page three of the book. Any motion, without sufficient practice, leaves you open for a split second when performed. For example, when you punch, you are able to punch, then kick, block, jump, or run. There is little or no time lost between actions. Using a weapon like the sword, you have to make sure that your movements are fluid or else you will be cut down immediately in combat. This exercise will help improve your fluidity."

Last but not least, Kisame ordered, "Then, you will practice chaining the two, stabbing and slashing, so that in a combat situation, you are able to utilize more than one attack every time you move without any awkwardness or loss of balance."

Trusting Naruto to follow his orders, Kisame immediately dissolved into a puddle of water, leaving Naruto alone in the training ground. Naruto just stood there, stunned. His brain overwhelmed with the enormity of the task he had just been given.

As soon as he had sorted out his directions, he gripped the wooden sword with a renewed sense of determination. 'Hmm...If I want to be strong like Kisame-sensei, I'm going to have to train hard - harder than ever.'

And just like that, his quota doubled.

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It was the beginning of a period of intense training for Naruto. To Kisame's satisfaction, Naruto had finally found a worthy goal : Becoming one of the Seven Swordsmen and surpassing Kisame himself.

And he was proud.

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**Yeah, I'm late in posting this, but in the two days, I worked to almost triple the word count from 900 to 2500, so you better appreciate it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer : Own Naruto I not**

**You'll notice I'm WAY late with this one. I didn't expect to actually include the 'trials' in this chapter, but I'm leaving the country for two weeks, so I worked extra hard to include it. This is SIX FCKING THOUSAND WORDS (Alot for me). THREE TIMES my regular chapters. You better appreciate this! **

* * *

**My first 'original' chapter for this story! I will proudly state that all chapters after this will be totally original except for two. This will invoke a change of tone, and my oh-so-lovable humor will start to die out... Ideas will still be brought over including Scienceboy's OCs for the Wave Arc as well as the ANBUs Cat-face and Raven!  
**

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_Its been about two years since Naruto had started training with his wooden sword. Now ten years old, he could match swords with ANBU from any of the Shinobi Nations. Zabuza had picked up another student, one named Suigetsu. The Mizukage had assigned him the child on the premise that he was most gifted ninja in the graduating class of that year... One who had great potential in swordsmanship._

Zabuza glared half-heartedly at the teen in front of him, "Again Suigetsu!"

Always willing, never failing. That was Suigetsu - a prodigy in his own right, he picked things up faster than both Naruto and Haku. This was why Zabuza was bored.

Frankly, training Suigetsu just wasn't entertaining enough, with no opprotunities to curse...to shout...to verbally abuse the unfortuneate trainee. No, everything about this kid was perfect.

Following the Mizukage's order's, he had gloomily turned Haku's training over to Raiga. It had been hard, having loved Haku like a daughter. Though he never showed it, he was grateful that Haku had given him a purpose. At first he was simply the 'Demon of the Mist', a robotic killer at the Mizukage's beck and call. Now, he was as close as he could get to a father - and it had been taken away.

He remembered the tantrum he had thrown when he received the news as well as Kisame's absurd attempt to make him feel better by cooking him a plate of squid.

But there was nothing he or anyone else could do.

In a dictatorship like the one the Mizukage was running, his word was law. Disputing it was equatable to treason and that was punishable by death; so while he swore and ranted in private, he held his tongue when the decision was finalized.

Now all he had was a prodigious, emotionless, killer on his hands. While Haku advocated mercy and Naruto second chances, Suigetsu was a synonym for certain death if you crossed him.

Even as he had Suigetsu practice Suiton: Bakusui Shoha, it was simply for show. Suigetsu, he knew, had surpassed him. Nobody he had ever heard of could perform a jutsu this complex at such a young age, especially not so well. The slew of water Suigetsu spat out of his mouth covered two entire training fields. To his chagrin, Zabuza himself could only cover one and a half.

"Again!"

More water was spat out, sloshing over onto training field three. "Again!"

His student was in the process of drowning the training ground four, when Zabuza stopped him. "Thats enough Suigetsu."

Stopping immediately, Suigetsu stood at attention waiting raptly for his new orders. "Kenjutsu."

Drawing his Zanbatou from his back, Zabuza braced himself, sliding his right foot back and holding his blade out. Suigetsu calmly drew two slim katanas made of a strange alloy of silver. It was a gift from the Mizukage, to the 'Future of the Mist Country'. Zabuza had been very surprised to find the material every bit as good as his Zanbato's. However well crafted it was though, it still lacked something that made one a true swordsman : Soul.

Anyone could wield a piece of steel and call it a sword, but to have a true partner was something else. It was like having somebody one that has survived countless battles and endured hundreds of challenges with you. Somebody you could confide anything to. Somebody that would never let you down.

It was the dividing line between skilled with a sword and becoming the sword itself. To force the sword to do your bidding or to work together with the blade. Only Seven people at any time have managed to reach the level of cooperation with their weapon. And they were called the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Suigetsu ran forward, making a downward slash at Zabuza's head. He felt Zabuza catch the blade with his Zanbatou. Stabbing with his other sword, Suigetsu was thrown for a loop when Zabuza jumped upward, knocking his first sword out of his hand and landing on the top of his second sword. Swinging his Zabatou around, Zabuza brought the flat of his sword to bear on Suigetsu. Pulling his sword out from under Zabuza's feet, the teen blocked the gigantic sword swing with one of his own. However, Zabuza proved to be much more powerful than the boy, throwing him backwards.

Using the katana, Suigetsu stabbed it into the ground, slowing his fall, before pulling his sword out again and flipping backwards. With a rush of speed, Suigetsu appeared behind Zabuza, swinging low at his feet. Having foreseen Zabuza's jump, he swung upwards midway through, with the aim of cleaving Zabuza in half. Seeing what was about to happen, Zabuza grabbed the sides incoming sword with his feet, sending it back to earth. Still stepping on the katana, Zabuza swung at Suigetsu's head with his Zanbatou, forcing him to retreat. Picking up Suigetsu's sword from under his feet, Zabuza twirled it, "You lose again."

Smiling a rubbery smile, Suigetsu warmly said, "No problem Zabuza-sensei. I'm confident I'll do better next time."

Zabuza sighed at the fake smile. The boy didn't know how to express his emotions. He didn't have any. "Mm..."

Zabuza turned when he heard two people two people walking toward him. Raiga and Haku were standing on the water just a few yards away. "Zabuza-san, I believe today was the day planned to take the three students to _Kikotsu__chikarakurabe_."

Haku and Suigetsu gave questioning looks at the two older men. Haku spoke first, "Hey, whats _Kikotsu__chikarakurabe_?"

Zabuza and Raiga glanced at the pair. "Its a test to determine...whether you are worthy to continue your training under us."

Haku nodded, but couldn't help but notice the chill creeping down her spine. Suigetsu nodded and smiled, perfectly complacent. He had never failed. He wouldn't start now.

Nudging Zabuza, Raiga beckoned. "Lets go find Kisame and Naruto. They're at Training Ground 05"

Looking at the flooded expanses of the barracks, Raiga muttered, "...and aren't they lucky?"

The four arrived at the edge of Training Ground 05 to see an all out battle going on between Naruto and Kisame. Even Suigetsu couldn't help but be impressed at the trouble the ten year old was giving a shinobi twice his size. Admittingly, Kisame was holding back. He wasn't using any of his shark-based jutsu, nor had he taken off his weights. He had also refraining from removing the sheath on Samehade.

But even then, Kisame could easily defeat lower-leveled Jounin.

Their blades clashed as Naruto and Kisame jumped toward each other. Blurring away, Kisame appeared twenty feet away with his hands flashing through hand seals. Gambling that the jutsu wasn't any thing he couldn't handle, Naruto lowered his sword point to waist level before charging recklessly at Kisame.

Finishing his jutsu, Kisame shouted, "Suiton : Suiryudan!" A large dragon composed of water appeared from the nearby training fields, before turning to Naruto. Still running toward Kisame, and thereby the Water Dragon, Naruto focused chakra in his right hand until it was a visible bright blue.

He met the dragon with the fist, slowly but surely overwhelming it as more chakra was pumped into his hand, causing the dragon to implode. Kisame, who was blinded by the explosion of water in front of him, grunted when he felt a sword pierce his thigh. As the falling water cleared, it revealed Naruto panting, his right hand hanging limply to the side covered with chakra burns, his left hand holding his sword. Kisame was kneeling with a smirk, complacent with the turn of events. Calmly ripping the sword out of his thigh, Kisame turned into a puddle of water.

Naruto's eyes widened inperceptibly, his hand reflexively reaching into his kunai pouch and sending a barrage of kunai behind him. Each projectile was met by a Kisame-thrown shuriken. His right hand useless, Naruto settled into a defensive position, with his left hand holding his sword. Instead of impulsively charging forward, Kisame threw his sword up into the air, freeing his hands up.

"Suiton : Teppodama!"

Blowing out five large balls of water, Kisame caught his sword and prepared to end the spar.

Naruto saw the five water bullets heading toward him. He cut through the first one bullet, before performing a spin kick, destroying a second one. Sliding low onto the ground, he avoided the third bullet before deflecting the fourth one into the air. As the last water bullet twirled towards him, Naruto was about to shatter it with a well placed stab before Kisame burst out from behind the bullet, tackling him onto the ground as a splash of water hit the pair.

Shaking the water off of his face, Naruto asked, "When'd you pull the switch?"

Kisame gasped back, "Right when the dragon exploded. Knew you couldn't see anything either."

Naruto made a face as Raiga walked up to the duo.

Tapping Kisame's shoulder, Raiga reminded the shark man, "Remember the test?"

Kisame's eyes widened for a second before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Oops. I forgot about that..."

Lifting Naruto off the ground, Kisame threw the child on his back. "Let me down, Kisame!"

Smirking, Kisame tightened his grip on Naruto, "Last one to the _furudera_ has to pay for dinner!"

As Kisame took off, Raiga grabbed Haku by the waist before following. "You'll regret saying that Kisame!" 

Zabuza sighed at the merriment displayed by his friends and turned to find Suigetsu. He was mildly surprised to see that his student wasn't there.

Turning back, he realized that Suigetsu had already taken off without him. Sighing again, Zabuza too, left the barracks grounds.

* * *

Even though Raiga had left before Zabuza, he was the one who lost the race. Both Kisame and Zabuza, having been on the Seven longer, knew a shortcut through a waterfall that Raiga had neglected to take. In the spirit of winning, Zabuza, Kisame and Naruto promised to gorge themselves at dinner, while Suigetsu smiled and shrugged. 

The temple they had arrived at was truly spectacular, with a sloping triangular roof and corners curving upwards. On the top was a small golden sword pointing towards the sun. The walls were white with stripes of red wood criss crossing every now and then, creating a field of rectangles and squares. Around the temple was a brilliant garden full of every flower from the Mist Country with a marble fountain as the centerpiece. To finish it off, there was an ornamental fence made of silver wire surrounding the temple. A gate been made of wrought iron had added to the front, creating a break in the silver fence.

Kisame had opened it for the group, using his sword as the key. The six people marched single file through the wooden door of the temple, which had magically opened for them. The room was brightly lit, with mosaics of battles long past covering the walls, each one with the Seven Swordsmen in the center.

Naruto turned to look at the last mosaic, and was disturbed to see Naruto, Haku, Zabuza, and Kisame standing around a burning pyre, each walking away in a different direction. Zabuza, Kisame and Raiga noticed it as well, each frowning.

Three other doors appeared out of thin air at the other end of the room. Suddenly the room was deathly quiet as each persons attention was focused on the doors.

It was the oddest sensation. Naruto felt himself getting fainter as his grip on reality slackened. Looking at his hand, he was surprised to see that he looked etheral now, his body slowly fading away. Looking to both sides, he saw Haku and Suigetsu experiencing a similar occurrence.

Catching Kisame's eye, Naruto gave him an utterly confused look, but was given back the proudest smile he had ever seen grace the shark man's face. Raiga was smiling equally proudly toward Haku, and oddly enough, as was Zabuza who was pointedly ignoring Suigetsu. Giving the girl a warm grin and a thumbs up sign, Naruto disappeared completely. A second later, Haku's worried face also faded away. Suigetsu was last to go, his rubber smile still pasted on his face as he dissolved into nothingness...

* * *

Haku was in shock as she stepped through the doorway. She remembered this place - no matter how hard she had tried to forget it... It was her home... Clothing still hung on the lines to dry. A pile of firewood lay behind the house, just as she had remembered it. As she walked towards the door, the coppery smell of blood made her gag. 

'This...was the day...Mom...'

Pushing open the door, Haku peeked in. He father looked at her with an empty gaze and a cruel smirk. He held a blood soaked katana in front of him. In a low, inhuman voice, he rasped, "Haku, dear daughter, I've been waiting for you."

Pulling out her epee from its place at her waist, Haku advanced into the room. Shadows danced across the walls momentarily and when the door shut, the room was totally devoid of light. Somehow, Haku could still see her father's eyes, sparkling with malice.

"Just like your mom. Do you know what she was?"

Haku glared at him, "A kind and caring person, a thousand times better than you are!"

The man snorted in disgust, "Can you hear the shit you're spewing? She was a filthy, disgusting, MONSTER!"

Haku shouted hysterically, "I will not allow you to talk about Mom this way! Murderer!"

Haku lunged forward, flicking the tip of her rapier forward, aiming to pierce the man's throat. To her astonishment, the point of the sword went through her father's throat, not drawing blood or sheering flesh.

"Haku...you need to die... You are a filthy, disgusting, monstrous thing, just like your mother."

Haku's father ventured forward with his sword, swing downward. Drawing her parrying dagger, Haku blocked the slash before attempting to retaliate with a stab at the heart. Like before, the slice merely went through the body instead of harming it.

He smirked, "You can't harm me silly girl. Where's your bloodline now? Helpless piece of trash. Thats all you are."

He glared at her before attacking again. Jumping backwards Haku shouted, "Setatsu Suisho!"

Crashing through the wooden walls, ice needles created from the nearby snow crashed into her target. Like every other weapon Haku had tried so far, it went harmlessly through him. This time, her dad's attack hit, creating a diagonal cut cross her ribs.

Waves of nausea hit Haku, causing her to kneel down in helplessly, 'Wh..what? Nothing can hurt him...my mom's killer...and I can't do anything! I...Am I really going to die?!'

With tears in her eyes Haku shook her head violently. 'This is my past...I thought I had it behind me...I guess not...'

Standing up and brushing the tears out of her eyes, Haku's eyes glinted with renewed determination. The older man advanced towards her and unexpectedly, Haku ran up and hugged him.

The man's insane grin dropped as he looked down at the girl hugging him. Even as he sunk his blade into his daughter's back, he asked in the kind voice Haku had always remembered he had, "Can you forgive me?"

With shaky breath Haku stammered, "Y-yes...I do. A- And I'm sorry."

His eyes widened when he heard his daughter's statement. "I'm sorry too."

Pushing the sword deeper in, the blade exited out of his back. With a dying rasp, he repeated, "I'm sorry Haku. Truly sorry."

Her father's body started fading away before her eyes, as did the sword and the wounds Haku had received. "No, DADDY!"

Reaching up, her father stroked her hair with an odd little grin, "Become strong for me Haku... Prove me wrong."

As he finally disappeared, the tears finally spilled out in rivers. Shaking, Haku slammed her fist on where her dad had just laid a moment before. Her father...at the last moment before his death, had truly regretted what he had done. Oh, how much they had to talk about! How much time she wanted to spend with him, basking in the comfort of each other's presence. But it was not to be...it couldn't be.

A dazzling light suddenly permeated the room, forcing her to look up. Her father was a transleucent white, smiling at her, along with her mom. Walking up to her, Haku's mom kissed her on the cheek. "Look how big you've grown."

Patting her on the head, Haku's mother whispered, "Such a brave girl. I'm very proud of you."

Haku's mother pulled a sword out of an invisible sheath before turning back and rejoining her husband,

It floated into the air, emitting a strange song with both mother and father looking at their child with pride.

_The quality of mercy is not strain'd,  
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven  
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;  
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:  
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes  
The throned monarch better than his crown;  
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,  
The attribute to awe and majesty,  
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;  
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;  
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,  
It is an attribute to God himself. (William Shakesphere)_

_-Song of the Flambard; the Fires of Mercy. _

As Haku's hands encircled the hilt, a brilliant light flashed blinded her, as she felt herself thrown from this world, away from her parents, and away from her past.

The last thing she saw was her father waving at her, with her mother in his arms.

* * *

Naruto awoke in the oddest place he'd ever seen. It was a sewer of sorts, with pipes of assorted sizes hanging downward. Water covered the floor and the strangest thing was that the entire place smelled like a wet animal. Curiosity got the better of him and Naruto started exploring the wet chambers, working his way left until he found a set of giant golden bars. A low growl came from the cage, piquing Naruto's interest as he leaned into the bars. He jumped back when a sharp claw narrowly missed his head. 

Naruto shouted into the darkness of the cage, "Hey, who's in there?"

A pair of vermillion eyes appeared, glaring down at the boy before a voice said regally, "**I am Kyuubi No Kitsune, Lord and King of the Bjuu!**"

Naruto looked at the twin eyes, perplexed. "Whats a bjuu?"

The bulk of a massive fox crashed against the cage in a fruitless effort to break out before growling, "**A demon, you stupid piece trash!**"

Naruto stared at the over sized fox. "So your a Demon. But not just any demon. You're a king demon. Thats nice..."

A wave of killing intent washed over Naruto who shivered a little. Kyuubi boomed, "**ARE YOU MOCKING ME?!**"

Naruto shrugged innocently. "Maaybe..."

The bars rattled as the great beast locked inside stampeded around its prison, throwing itself against the walls in an effort to gain its freedom and kill the disrespectful little fool that stood in front of him.

Naruto continued, ignoring the demon's rage, "You understand that I don't nessesarily believe that you're a demon, right? I mean, Kisame told me this was a test. Maybe I'm supposed to tame an oversized fox..."

Doing its best to suppress his sizable temper, the Kyuubi gave an awkward smile. "**Don't believe me eh? Then how bout you take off that little piece of paper on the front of my pris-... my house?**"

Naruto looked at the fox suspiciously, "Whats the paper supposed to do anyway?"

Kyuubi twitched as he made an excuse, "**Its...a restraining order...by God. If you take it off my house, I get out again.**"

Nodding wisely, as if it made sense, Naruto went ahead and promptly tore the seal off of the cage.

Taking advantage of the boys stupidity, the moment the seal was off, he lashed out with all nine tails, splintering the bars before tackling it. The slam on the weakened cage was enough to shatter it, freeing the Kyuubi. With its nine tails billowing around it, the Kyuubi hissed, "**Now do you believe me?**"

Taking a piece of one of the bars, Naruto crushed it in his ten year old hands. "No."

A single slam of the tail caused Naruto to fly back twenty feet. Getting back up again, Naruto saw that a five foot deep, eight foot wide crater had just been created effortlessly by the fox. "I changed my mind."

Smiling evilly, Kyuubi showed off his yellow teeth. "**Good. Now you DIE!**"

The claws shot forward. Taking out his wooden sword, Naruto tried to guard himself from the demonic onslaught. However, the first blow splintered his wooden sword, the second snapping it.

The Kyuubi grinned at the prey's attempts to delay its destruction, before hitting the ground with its nine tails. The resulting earthquake put fissures into the ground, as Naruto fell backwards onto his butt.

Seeing the shadow of a looming claw, Naruto rolled out of the way just in time. Retreating further, Naruto screamed, "Suiton : Suiryudan!"

A Water dragon rose from the water that had gathered in the fissures before homing onto Kyuubi.

Kyuubi didn't even blink as the dragon hit his face. It was like a pin prick to a beast as great as he was.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto called out, "Suiton : Mizubashira!"

Three fountains of water erupted from the ground, forming pronged arrows which assaulted Kyuubi's nostrils.

With a vicious blow of his nose, Kyuubi blew away each fountain of water before advancing on Naruto. With no room left to fall back on, Naruto could only stare helplessly as Kyuubi trapped him with his paws, pinning him to the ground.

Even as his head bounced against the hard brick of the ground, he witnessed a girl running up to him out of nowhere. Moaning slightly, he saw that it was Haku.

Wordlessly, Haku pulled out her epee intent on helping Naruto as soon as she saw the giant fox holding him.

To his horror and to Kyuubi's delight, Haku was instantly forced down by the Kyuubi's other paw.

Lowering his head to the boy's level, the Kyuubi growled out, "**Heh, so this is that girl huh? Lemme tell you a secret. I, the great Kyuubi no Kitsune, am sealed up in you, baka no dipshit. Now if you want the girl to live, you're going to secede control of your body over to me!**"

While Kyuubi was speaking, Naruto was struggling to free his hands so that he could try and rescue Haku. Just as Kyuubi finished his speech, Naruto finally had his arms in the clear.

"Mizubushin no Jutsu!"

Five water clones sprang up around him. Two promptly muttered, "Kawarmi!"

With a puff of smoke, both Naruto and Haku were replaced by the two water clones. Finding themselves under the weight of Kyuubi's paws, the two promptly collapsed back into water.

Howling with rage, the Kyuubi was set on the destruction of the two children in front of him when he felt a tickleish sensation on his nose. Crossing his eyes, he saw it was one of the infernal clones his container had made. Ignoring the two for now, the Kyuubi focused on dissolving the clone when he felt another prick on his ear...

Panting, Naruto sat down as his clones worked to distract the Kyuubi, each one eventually being swatted down. Looking up at Haku, Naruto was astonished to see that her features were warping into a strange man's. The man had spiky blond hair and a white trench coat. Under it he wore a shoulder-pad less Jounin vest. The oddest accessory of all was the leaf hiate the man proudly wore on his head.

Was the man a leaf nin?

The newcomer glared at the Kyuubi and without a word, leaped onto the Kyuubi's head. Forming a blue swirling ball in a single hand, the man screamed, "Rasengan!" The blue ball was forcefully shoved into the Kyuubi's ear.

With a scream of agony, the Kyuubi held his paws up to damaged appendage, giving his attacker the chance to escape.

Turning to Naruto, the mysterious stranger gave a reassuring smile before hold out his hands. Even though Naruto wasn't sure why, he felt obligated to place his own hands over them.

The chakra between their hands spun faster and faster. Naruto gave a soft gasp when he felt the wind from the powerful jutsu encircle his hand.

Twin golden orbs appeared in between their hands, one in the palm of the stranger's hand, the other in his.

. Nodding confidently, both Naruto and the stranger charged at the Kyuubi, who had since recovered. The taller blond dodged two slams by Kyuubi's tails before pushing the orb into the Kyuubi's throat with another cry of, "Rasengan!"

The sphere in Naruto's hand had strangely solidified into a sword and with a determined yell, Naruto stabbed the Kyuubi in the forehead. Taking the sword out of the Kyuubi, Naruto spun around in midair before throwing the sword vehemetly into the Kyuubi's left eye. Jumping away, Naruto started on hand seals for his favorite jutsu.

Howling with pain, the Kyuubi was blindsided when the other man slammed yet another Rasengan into his right eye and unleashed a wave of kunai into the Kyuubi's chest.

Falling back, the stranger shouted, "Katon : Karyu Endan no Jutsu!"

At the same time, Naruto had finished his handseals, "Suiton : Suiryudan!"

The water in the cell congregated together as the other shinobi spat out a plume of flame, each forming the shape of a dragon.

The two dragons entwined together, forming a greater purple dragon's body. With a bestial howl, the dragon entered the Kyuubi's gapping jaws before exploding into the fox's gut.

It was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The great mass of the Kyuubi collapsed with a giant animalistic moan.

A stream of light came out of the fallen demon's eye as the sword that Naruto had thrown floated out into the middle of the room. When it stopped, an airy voice echoed through the battle scarred chamber.

_Right great vengeance our Emperour will get.  
Battle we'll have, both long and keenly set,  
Never has man beheld such armies met.  
With my sword I'll strike again,  
And, comrade, you shall strike with rapier-clere.  
These swords in lands so many have we held,  
Battles with them so many brought to end,  
No evil song shall e'er be sung or said."_

_-Song of Roland; an Indomitable Spirit (Edited slightly...)_

A burst of light was shot from the sword, enveloping Naruto, and as the sewer grew fainter, a smile grazed his lips. The blond shinobi was smiling back at him, and just as he disappeared from view, Naruto swore the man had saluted him.

What a guy...

* * *

Suigetsu greeted his world with a raised eyebrow. He knew this place. This was his old classroom. 

The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife. He recognized it for what it was, the day of the gennin exam.

The day where aspiring ninja would have to kill their classmates to advance. He smiled contently. If this was the test, to kill his classmates again, he had already passed.

He happily thought of his mentor, Zabuza, who had earned the nickname, "Demon of the Mist" when he had killed a whole class of Academy students along with their Chunnin instructor on this fateful day. And without even being a ninja!

How proud Zabuza would be after this!

His old best friend, Bushido came up to him, tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey Sui, its exciting isn't it? I hope I prepared enough for this test..."

Looking at him more seriously, Bushido said sadly, "When we fight...I don't want to hurt you...but I'll do my best not to kill you."

Suigetsu was tempted to smirk at his buddy's antics, but kept a straight face. Didn't this 'friend' understand that in real life, ninja might be required to leave their team mates to die to complete the mission?

"I'm sorry Bushido, but no guarantees."

Bushido's brow furrowed. "What are you saying? Would you really kill me, your best friend, without a second thought?"

Suigetsu's eyes narrowed, "If required. Yes."

An awkward silence fell over the two teens, before Bushido turned to leave. "Well then. I guess I'll see you."

Not knowing what else to say, Suigetsu simply agreed. "Yeah."

A moment later, the class bell rang and Suigetsu reported to his class room like he always had. His Chunnin instructor led the class off to what he knew would simply be a large concrete room which smelled strongly of antiseptic from the washings it had been given after every gennin exam.

Each of the gennin filed into the room, pulling out various weapons. When the whole class had entered the room, the Chunnin examiner left, locking the door behind him. With the resounding 'click' of the lock, the room shook as fierce combat began.

Suigetsu had a small smile on his face as he drew his swords. It was combat, it was where he thrived. It was where he could feel _alive._

Spinning around with his swords, his smile widened when he saw the shocked face of a nameless gennin as he sliced the boy's kunai in half before continuing on to his throat. It was an elegant dance of death as Suigetsu paraded through the room, blades snickering through the air, cutting left and right.

He had cleared out half the room already, bodies scattered on the floor, agonizing cries filling the air. The other half had forgotten about their ambition to reach gennin and was watching the whirlwind in awe. And fear.

Suigetsu's blades were dripping with blood, while the owner still smiled, oblivious he had just ended the lives of fifteen different people. The swords went up again.

Suigetsu leaped into the crowd of students. And with that, another blood bath began.

Feeling a pain in his chest, Suigetsu looked down. A lone kunai had embedded itself in his lung.

Suppressing the pain, he pulled the kunai out of his chest.

With a flick of his wrist, the kunai slammed into another student's throat.

A person dead, an obstacle removed.

A thrust of the sword, a falling of a body. Projectiles of every kind soared at him from cowards.

Idiots afraid to challenge him face to face.

'No matter,' he thought, 'They'll soon know that fighting...is futile.'

With a single swish of the blade, each projectile was deflected at its thrower. Seven more students fell to the ground.

Bushido watched in horror as his best friend massacred his classmates without any hesitation what so ever. It was inhumane.

With his last target dead, Suigetsu looked at his best friend without any noticeable malice. "Its your turn Bushido."

'So calm... His eyes are blank. H- He can't feel remorse or guilt at all!'

Forcing a tight smile onto his face, Bushido pulled a katana out from his pants. "The sheath is tied onto the side of my leg," he explained, "Though I'd never thought I'd have to use it. Not against you."

Suigetsu shrugged, not quite caring where the sword been produced from. He knew that he had already won. A mediocre student like Bushido couldn't hope to match a prodigy like himself. Especially since he had trained under Momochi Zabuza.

Leveling the katana, Bushido warned him, "To be able to defeat me, you have to intend to kill me."

A smirk spread over Suigetsu's face. "Good."

With a flicker of movement uncatchable by Bushido's eyes, he had appeared behind his best friend before ramming his sword tip into the base of Bushido's skull.

With a blank look and a single gasp, Bushido toppeled forward.

With the last student dead, the Chunnin examiner Shunshin-ed into the room.

Motioning to the fallen bodies that were scattered across the floor, the Chunnin said, "So you've killed them all. You've won. Do you feel proud? Satisfied?"

Suigetsu shook his head. "No."

Slicing off the Chunnin's head in a single swift motion, Suigetsu sheathed his swords before smirking. "Now I do."

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain his his abdomen and saw a sword had been run through his chest. Craning his neck, he look behind him to see Bushido on his knees, still holding onto the katana.

Bushido rasped, "To kill your friend with such disdain. You are surely a killer. Killing your emotions, killing your allies, killing your enemies. Killing is not the way of a swordsman."

Continuing, Bushido spoke in gasps and heaves, "Have you forgotten Suigetsu? The Seven virtues of a Swordsman, Respect, Courage, Honor, Loyalty, Benev-"

Unsheathing his swords one last time, Suigetsu snorted. Turning, he swung his blades, beheading his best friend.

Muttering to himself, Suigetsu said, "Heh, a Fool's way. You have followed it and you are dead. I, who have separated myself from such stupidity have achieved true power...The power to end lives, to shatter worlds..."

Whether it was to convince himself or the dead Bushido, he did not know.

The katana still embedded in his chest suddenly emitted a strange black light. The pain was like he had never felt before, and he was forced to the floor, screaming. Each of his dead classmates had miraculously risen up again, each clutching a katana they did not have before.

Stumbling up to him, each one stabbed Suigetsu with their sword, again and again. To his horror, Bushido, once again, got up from the ground. With a gutteral noise from his throat, the corpse joined his peers in the torture of Suigetsu.

Upon seeing Bushido's headless body, Suigetsu clawed at his face, willing his friend to leave him be. "I killed you! TWICE! **WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!**"

He received no answer and the pain intensified as another sword was shoved into his spine. He screamed louder still as a screeching noise appeared out of nowhere, echoing off the walls.

_To haunt, and to terrorize the mortal man.  
With every waking moment, every point in time  
And with every breath, the soul breathes in,  
Stones of ancient times, and immense measure,  
Will pierce the body, the soul, and the mind;  
And grief will once again rein free. _

_-Song of a Murderer; a Feelingless Creature  
_

The world was blacking out, Suigetsu noticed. He welcomed it, a reprieve from the pain when suddenly he saw something else looming in the dark. It was a gigantic claw. The pain was back, and if possible, was a hundred times worse than before.

It was like his soul was being shredded.

And it was.

* * *

**_A/N: _**

**_Suiton : Teppodama is the water shot used by Gamabunta. I've turned this into a jutsu because its convenient... Like a Water-fireball._**

**_Low level Jounin - Generic Fodder Jounin. Kakashi and friends are Konoha's 'Elite Jounin'_**

_**Random Japanese Words Used : **_

_**Furudera : Temple**_

**_Kikotsu__chikarakurabe : Soul Test_**

**_-_**

**_I chose Bushido to be the name of Suigetsu's best friend because Bushido encompasses the 7 virtues of a Samurai. This is the 7 virtues that Bushido starts to list before being killed. _**

**_While the test method of killing your buddies in the Mist was abolished after Zabuza, I chose to make that happen after Suigetsu had graduated..._**

**_An explanation for the trials : The contents of the trial are taken from your own memories, focusing on life changing events. The death of Haku's parents and Suigetsus gennin exam produced obvious reactions, but while Naruto had seen the Kyuubi and the 4th as a baby, he doesn't remember them. This is why Naruto was confused at first and doesn't realize who the blond guy was._**

**_Haku's test stood for Mercy._**

**_Naruto's test stood for Determination._**

**_Suigetsu's test stood for Friendship._**

**_Some bastard named Lord Myst said that my chapters suck and I should rewrite the first four. I choose to agree with him because he typed in complete sentences. I won't do chapter 7 until I work through the first 4 AGAIN. Man, well anyway, I'll do chapter 6 asap because I like this part. :) _**

_**-**_

_**I AM GOING ON A 3 WEEK TRIP. THERES NO GUARANTEE OF INTERNET SO MY STORIES WILL PROBABLY BE IN HIATUS UNTIL THEN. /Caps off **_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6  
**

**Disclaimer : Own Naruto I not, and for Chapter 5, I also do not own Final Fantasy V. I admit that it was a terrible game (In my opinion), but at one point, the main characters are knocked unconcious by a vision of an apparent loved one except for an old man who has amenisa. He just kind looks at his daughter like 'Eh? Who are you?'**

**I wanted to incorperate that somehow, and I did, via Naruto's vision.  
**

**Guakamori : Hm. I don't like Suigetsu as a fanfiction character that much yet. xD; : Eh, that might be because I'm not sure of his personality. I just combined Sai's social skillz, Kakashis attitude pre-gaiden and Sasuke's arrogance (slash mark) blindness together.**

**Scienceboy : More info on your rp character would be nice. I just remember that he sprouts blades from his body like Kimmaro does bones... Which really isn't enough... Thanks!  
**

**Masterkeyes2 : I'm honored :), but really, he won't be THAT powerful...I think...****  
**

* * *

Haku woke up with a mass of darkness hovering over her. Blinking a few times, she managed to make out three floating balls. How peculiar. 

She blinked again.

The balls morphed into some shadowy form of a head. Or it was a ball with hair.

Further inspection revealed them to be not just any heads, but the anxious faces of Raiga, Kisame, and Zabuza looking down at her.

Zabuza flashed a grin before asking her eagerly, "So how'd it go?!"

Sitting up, Haku returned his enthusiastic smile before faltering. "It went…well."

As if to further prove her success, the three swordsmen noticed the rapier hanging by Haku's waist. The first thing they noticed was that it had a strange color scheme. The hilt was a dull green with a purple vine encircling it. Attached to it was a slim blade that was colored a rustic brown before ending at a sharp, pointed tip.

Smiling proudly at Haku's achievement, Zabuza congratulated, "Excellent work Haku!"H

Haku beamed shyly as Raiga asked, "What exactly was your challenge, Haku?"

The three listened with rapt attention as Haku described her ordeal, "…and then my father took the sword and…and…"

A tear slid down Haku's face as she choked out the words, "He…he…stabbed me through the back -"

At this point, Zabuza and Kisame both grimaced darkly while Raiga snarled softly to himself.

"-before he impaled himself. Just before he died he asked me to…to…forgive what he had done to me…"

Haku gave a small cry as she thought of her father's voice, so kind, so gentle…so…loving…

"Th-then both he and mom appeared in this flash of light…mom…I didn't ever think I'd see her again… She told me how unbelievably proud she was…and then she gave me…she gave me…this."

Pointing to her new sword, Haku fell down onto her knees sobbing. Kneeling down, Zabuza wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort the girl. Meanwhile Kisame and Raiga stood in solemn silence, watching her grieve.

A few minutes later, Kisame felt his lip unexpectedly curve upwards in a weak smile. It had started when a small burst of white light caught his eye, but as it faded away, it became obvious that it was Naruto that was next to return from his challenge.

In the unconscious boy's hand was a strange pulsing sword, shooting out a few errant streams of light into the room. This attracted the attention of Raiga and Zabuza, as well as Haku, who each gave paused to examine the new weapon.

Its appearance was extraordinary compared to Haku's plain rapier. The sword bore a straight blade with a white luster and a long grove extending down the sword for balance. Below it was a cross guard that had been adorned with complex metal embroidery and was ensconced in silver. The hilt of the sword was comprised of light-weight steel with a diamond pommel attached at the end.

As Kisame stared, mesmerized, at the regal appearance of his student's new weapon, Naruto stirred.

Yawning blearily, his first words to Kisame were, "Sonovabitch, what happened to me?"

Kisame grinned sharkishly at him. "Well Naruto, I believe you have been successful in your little task."

Naruto looked at his sensei questioningly, "How do you know?"

Kisame laughed quietly, "Idiot, you're holding your new sword in your hand."

Naruto's head whipped around so quickly that his neck gave a resounding crack. Bringing his eyes to his new sword, Naruto exclaimed, "Niice!"

Patting him on the back, Kisame asked him in an impatient whisper, "So whatja have to do to get it?"

Naruto shrugged casually before whispering back, "It was easy! I fought an evil giant fox with nine tails. Later, this guy came to help and he had this swirlly attack called the rasin-gen or something. And yeah, we kicked the fox's ass!"

Kisame looked at Naruto oddly, with a mixture of confusion and thoughtfulness, "That's strange. I don't believe I've ever exposed you to strange men with 'Rasin-gens' or nine-tailed foxes before…Anyway, Excellent job Naruto."

Turning away from his apprentice, Kisame pursed his lips, his brain racing at a million miles a minute. 'A nine-tailed fox. The Kyuubi. And the rasin-gen. That'd probably be the Rasengan. But where would he have seen the Kyuubi or the Yondaime Hokage before? Those challenges rely on your memories…and to have seen both the Kyuubi and the Yondaime Hokage… That means…'

His train of thought was interrupted when hoarse coughing suddenly echoed through the small enclosure.

With one last soft sniffle, Haku stood up abruptly, wiping her eyes on the sleeves of her kimono. In a shaky voice, she asked timidly, "W-what was that?"

Raiga's expression darkened, while Zabuza once again grimaced, but it was Kisame who answered. Guardedly, Kisame muttered, "It seems that our dear Suigetsu has failed."

Naruto's eyebrows rose skyward, even as moans started to fill the chamber. Flippantly he laughed, "Suigetsu - fail? That'd be the d-"

Zabuza broke in seriously, "He's not joking Naruto. Now keep quiet."

In front of the five shinobi, a portal oozing darkness appeared. It swirled as darkness lanced outwards, sucking the light from the room.

Seconds passed.

Suddenly a black claw shot forward, out of the portal. From it, a dark blur was thrown outwards before impacting against the temple wall. Pieces of wood fell onto the floor as the thing groaned.

The three swordsmen stood with their hands hovering mere inches away from their weapons while Naruto regarded the intruder aloofly. However, when Haku laid eyes on the man, she gasped.

It was Suigetsu.

The boy got up, oblivous to the fact he had just been slammed into a wall. With murder in his eyes, he limping over to Zabuza before he hoisting the Mist-nin into the air In a low guttural tone, Suigetsu rasped, "You sent me in there…you tried to kill me. I bet you knew that this would happen. That's just like you isn't it? Was I too gifted for you?" 

A maniacal grin crossed his face, "Afraid I'd outstrip you in power? Afraid I'd surpass you?"

Throwing Zabuza carelessly behind him, Suigetsu turned to leave. With a sneer, he shouted back, "You lot are a bunch of weak little piles of crap. This is not where real power lies. I'll obtain my power - and then I'll show you what it really means to be powerful…"

As the door slammed shut behind him, even Naruto's mouth fell open in shock. Trying to string together his thoughts, Naruto stuttered, "K-Kisame, what happened to him in there?"

Kisame grimaced heavily before responding, "He failed his task. It cost him something."

Naruto paled at Kisame's hate filled words. With hesitation, he asked, "What did he lose?"

Kisame eyed his apprentice for a moment before deadpanning, "His soul."

* * *

Suigetsu had stormed from the temple, his latent anger still brewing in his twisted heart. Rage leaked from his body, scaring away small animals. Without warning, Suigetsu broke into a heated sprint. 

Yes, he'd find his power. And then he'd show the Seven Fools of the Mist. How stupid he had been to think that his genius and power would be appreciated there. No. He'd find a new master, and surpass everyone of those buffoons.

Just as he had finished forming those satisfying thoughts, he suddenly tripped on a stray tree root, falling onto the ground.

Little more than a foot away, a man smirked at the fallen form in front of him, feeling tendrils Suigetsu's hate and rage lapping at his toes. However, he could feel another faint aura mixed in. It was a feeling of great power - power that lay locked inside this curious child.

The resentment he was harboring. Though the man did not know where it came from, the simple amount of hate he carried would make it easy to persuade the boy to join him. A promise of power, of revenge, and the boy would be his along with all his potential.

A greedy smile grazed the man's lips, flickering away as he stepped out from the shadows.

Noticing his prescence, the boy instantly looked up at him, eyes gleaming with hate.

Glaring at the stranger, Suigetsu shouted, "Hey blindfuck, get the fuck outta my way you lousy mother-"

An iron hand clamped over his mouth, stifling any other comments he may have wanted to express. Kneeling so he was at face level with the boy, the man purred, "My, my, what a dirty little mouth you have."

With a sudden kick, Suigetsu was launched into a tree, creating a small mark where he had impacted. The man strode up to him, tilting Suigetu's chin upwards. Meeting the boy's eyes, Orochimaru whispered "I can feel it. Power is what you desire…and what I can provide. That is what you want…isn't it?"

Dazedly, Suigetsu forced himself to nod, not entirely sure of what he was getting himself into. Clearing his head, he asked, "What makes you think you can give me power?"

Gripping the boy's neck, the man shoved him against. Examining his finger nails, he ticked off, "Hmm, strong enough to completely destroy half of the Seven Swordsmen, strong enough to kill your pathetic Mizukage, strong enough to crush your little neck..."

Looking up with a feral smile, the man growled, "Thats good enough isn't it?"

There was no response. Suigetsu was on the verge of falling unconcious from the knock against the tree trunk he had given him. The man's eyes narrowed as he delivered a sharp slap to Suigetsu.

Slowly coming to, Suigetsu's eyelids fluttered to see that the man was still there, kneeling in front of him. Licking his lips, the man asked silkily, "Mmm, can't have you leave just yet. Introductions come first of course. Now what's your name?"

Groaning, Suigetsu rasped out, "S-Suigetsu sir."

The man smirked. "Sir. I like the sound of that. Well then Suigetsu, I'm Orochimaru, your new master."

With a single deft stroke, Orochimaru gave Suigetsu a chop to the base of the skull. Picking up the now unconscious boy, Orochimaru turned backwards into a dark and foreboding forest with an evil leer spreading across his face

This new acquisition had the potential and the power to eventually best all of his newly created Sound Four squad. Perhaps even as strong as any Kage in the land - except him of course…

And then…and then…what a weapon he'd make…

* * *

Night had fallen as the five shinobi made their way back to head quarters. 

Through the trees, Naruto's voice rang out, "Whats that got to do with it? I still think you should have gone after Suigetsu!"

Another voice bellowed back, "Thats got everything to do with it!"

Naruto shook his head as he kept walking. "So what if Suigetsu 'Lost his Soul'?! He's a good person! I know he is!"

Zabuza growled, "Well you just found your own answer. He lost-his-effing-soul!"

Naruto punched a nearby tree trunk in frustration.

Glaring at Zabuza, he muttered, "So what?! I bet I could beat his soul back into him! Thats not an excuse to let a fellow ninja leave us like that!"

Raiga snorted at Naruto's reasoning. Scathingly, he muttered, "How can you be so thick-headed? Its amazing!"

Louder Raiga said, "Naruto, there are three components to a human spirit - Mind, Body and Soul."

"Mind is the ability to make a decision based on experiences in the past, the present and the hypothetical. Body is the ability to act on decision made by the mind. Soul however, places restrictions on the Mind and Body-"

Confused, Naruto scratched his head. Slowly, Naruto asked, "So isn't it _good_ to destroy your soul? That way, you'd get rid of your limits, right?"

Kisame seemed almost ill at Naruto's logic. "Yes, when put that way... However, there is a price to losing any part of a spirit. If you lose your Mind or your Body, the consequences are obvious. When you lose your soul, you lose something else entirely. Your soul keeps tabs on your mind using something called _morals._ This lets you make ethical decision like...refraining from killing women and children. The Soul also keeps limitations on your body. While you don't get instantly stronger after losing your Soul, you only awaken the potential to."

As Kisame finished, Raiga tacked on, "This is also how when people are defending their loved ones from death or harm, they have the ability to perform super-human acts. Their good intentions not only remove the barrier on their Body for a few minutes, but also allow them to tap into the potential as well. This ends up giving them an immense temporary power."

Naruto became slightly paler as he asked, "Would Suigetsu really killed children when he grows up? And how strong are you talking about?"

Zabuza cut in, "He just might. His soul was destroyed through the task. The task itself doesn't destroy ones soul. Its the choices made that does."

Zabuza's eyes hardened. "Even in real life, you can damage your soul with murder and wanton killing. Suigetsu must've killed numerous amounts of people for his soul to be destroyed."

Kisame answered Naruto's second question, "About his strength...Suigetsu's strength can become immense - that is stronger then me and Zabuza put together. But the loss of his soul would mean that it could very possibly be used in a bid for power, domination, or perhaps vengence."

Finishing, Zabuza concluded, "This is why the Seven Swordsmen can not risk to train somebody who has failed the task. Even with their soul intact...a person with such a mentality judged unworthy would become a menace if equipt with so much power."

As the group walked on, the air chilled as the wind howled like a wounded beast.

* * *

Just a few minutes after the five shinobi reached their headquarters, Orochimaru finally delivered his apprentice to his Eastern base of operations. 

Laying Suigetsu on top of a cot in his office, Orochimaru settled down into his desk when his door slammed open. The base commander, Kidomaru of the 'East Gate' walked in, flanked by two subordinates. One of his six hands clutched a scroll.

Kneeling, Kidomaru presented to parchment to his master. "Orochimaru-sama, a messenger snake from Anko had delivered this to me with instructions to give this directly to you."

Orochimaru nodded, taking the scroll. A satisfied smirked broke out as he read the message. 'Excellent. So Mizuki finally has his assets in place...'

Glancing over to the sleeping Suigetsu, Orochimaru cackled silently. 'To train my protegee in Konoha's forbidden arts. My old enemy giving my new ally power. How ironic...'

He turned back to Kidomaru who was now standing at attention. Looking at the spider-like man appraisngly, Orochimaru hissed, "Well done."

"Now your orders Kidomaru. You will contact the other Gates and rendevouz in Cardinal Sound. Prepare soldiers to meet Mizuki on Gyakuto Island in a week. He'll be escorted by Anko. Watch out for any interceptions... _**you**_ can not afford to blotch this up."

Paling slightly, Kidomaru nodded before saluting his master. Eyes dipped toward the ground, Kidomaru whispered reverently, "Of course Orochimaru-sama. Your word is law."

* * *

Two days later the Seven Swordsmen received summons by the Mizukage himself. An aide led them to the Mizukage Tower. The tower itself was a literal maze with all sorts of traps, twists and turns. It was said that nobody who has ever tried to attack the Mizukage had come back out of the tower alive. 

Blindfolds had been placed on all nine of them as they were brought up to the top by a guard.

Steel doors slammed shut behind them as the Mizukage silently creeped out of the shadows. "Gentlemen. Good to see you. Might I ask, Zabuza, where is Suigetsu?"

Zabuza cleared his throat, "Unfortunetly, Suigetsu has failed the task set before him by the _fuudera_ and as tradition dictates, I have made the descsion to halt his training."

The air around them seem to suddenly freeze as the Mizukage said chillingly, "And who gave you such permission?"

There was no response from the group.

His voice dripped down like an icicle as the Mizukage continued, "He was recommended by me into your little group. Now I _recommend_ that you find Suigetsu and continue to further his academics...if you so value your life..."

Zabuza spoke up again, "Excuse me sir, but Suigetsu has run off."

The Mizukage's eyes narrowed, "Run off you say? And whose fault is that Zabuza?"

Licking his dry lips, Zabuza said, "Mine sir."

The Mizukage smiled grostequely, "Good Zabuza."

Slamming his hand on the walls, the Mizukage leaned forward, spraying his ghastly breath at Zabuza, "Indeed, you have failed Zabuza. And I will see to it that you are punished appropreately. Now I've assigned you lot a mission. IF you and your stupid group fail again...Zabuza..."

Settling back, the Mizukage gave another smile. "Its sufficent to say that Madame Gullotine needs a bit of sharpening...yes?"

Zabuza nodded stiffly. Pushing his finger tips together, the Mizukage nodded back. "I'm glad you agree."

Rummaging around in his robes, the Mizukage withdrew a scroll before setting it out on his desk. Looking up at the Seven Swordsmen and the two trainees, the Mizukage rasped, "This is all top secret. If anything leaves this room, rest assured, you WILL pay for it...with your lives."

Ignoring the shudders that Naruto gave, he pressed on. Pointing at the map, the Mizukage said, "One of my spies has told me that Orochimaru has stolen the Leaf's Scroll of Sealing. It is filled with vast amounts of forbidden techniques that might launch us to the forefront of the balance of world power if we manage to aquire it."

Looking pointedly at the assembled swordsmen, the Mizukage said, "This is obviously where you gits come in. You're to take a squad of ninjas with you onto this island-"

The Mizukage stuck a tack in a triangular shaped island near Kirigakure. "-And intercept the scroll. There are supposed to be four teams of three ninja squads each fortifying the island in preperation of a rendevouz with the delivery team, consisting of two Konoha levels of unknown strength. Each of the ninja squads are led by a Jounin with the remaining members consisting of Chunnin. You have five days to prepare and will be supported with a regiment of ANBU ninja. Your reward for a mission complete is One-million ryou."

Taking out a sack of money from the desk, the Mizukage placed it on top of the map. "Here is 500,000 now. You will get the rest after the mission."

Grabbing the sack, Zabuza looked at the Mizukage expectantly for additional orders.

The Mizukage stared back before shrieking, "So? What are you lot waiting for?! Get OUT!"

The steel doors opened again as the guard led the team out of the tower.

* * *

After being dismissed by the Mizukage, the Seven immediately held a meeting of their own, huddling over a map of Gyakuto. 

Kisame tapped it with his finger, "So we're going to want to have a landing party on each of the sides of the triangle and work inwards. This would enable us to crush our opponents in between us."

Zabuza nodded, prodding one tip of the triangle. "Right, our teams will need a bit of adjustment with the addition of Naruto and Haku. Kisame, Haku, Naruto and I will be Squad one, landing on this tip."

"We'll have another group of four as Squad two, along with one to supervise the ANBU squads"

The other six nodded. Raising his hand, one of the other members volunteered, "I'll go. I'll hire the Demon Brothers to go along with us. We can't risk failing this."

Zabuza nodded in agreement. "So we're set then?"

At the chorus of "Ayes", Kisame rolled up the map. "Excellent, meeting adjourned."

* * *

It had been a grueling four days for both Naruto and Haku. Their normal endurance, projectile, ninpo and kenjutsu training had been suspended. Instead they did teamwork excercises, with the two children pairing up. 

Naruto and Haku would rehearse flanking attacks on Mizu-bunshin as well as practicing not getting in each other's way in combat. Even with the limited amount of content that was practiced in those four days, the end result wasn't spectacular, which was to be expected. Practicers of extreme teamwork were often best friends, life-long team mates or perhaps even married. Throwing two children together in a training area was hardly going to do anything - but anything in this case, was better then nothing.

On the fourth day Naruto and Haku took to the field once again against their teachers, fully expecting to lose badly.

Zabuza and Kisame glanced at the two with practiced easy. A quick hand signal to each other conveyed their target as Kisame and Zabuza charged.

Kisame appeared behind Naruto while Zabuza appeared in front of him. Naruto dropped to the ground and rolled to the side as Haku fired off a string of senbon at the two. Taking out a kunai, Zabuza blocked each shot while shielding Kisame with his body. Meanwhile, Kisame was trying to pin down Naruto, who was forced to dodge over and over again from Kisame's grasping hands.

Naruto managed to pull out one of his own kunais and braced himself, hoping Kisame would impale himself.

No such luck.

He felt the knife being wrenched out of his hands as Kisame's onslaught resumed. Hearing the whistle of a knife behind him, Zabuza launched his own kunai before whirling around momentarily. When he turned back, he held Naruto's kunai, having been thrown at him by Kisame.

A senbon intercepted Naruto's kunai as Haku shouted, "Hyoton : Hyoushou no Jutsu!"

Sheets of sharpened ice crystals appeared out of nowhere hurtling at Zabuza.

Zabuza cursed as he shouted, "Kisame!"

A moment later Kisame had relented his attack on Naruto and had allowed himself to be thrown at the wall of pointed ice. Unsheathing Samehade, Kisame twirled it in front of him. As the chakra infusing the ice was eaten away, the crystals quickly lost momentenm before either bouncing harmlessly off Kisame or simply falling onto the ground.

Meanwhile, Zabuza had turned to Naruto, swinging his giant zanbato at the boy. Naruto rose to the challenge of the sword fight, bring out his own blade.

Kisame had maintained the distance between him and the panting Haku, preferring to blast away with long distance jutsus.

Making handseals, Kisame shouted, "Suiton : Suiryudann no Jutsu!"

As the dragon materialized, Haku jumped backwards as she too shouted, "Suiton : Suiryudann no Jutsu!"

The two dragons clashed head on, both disappearing in a crackle of chakra infused water.

Not even bothering to look at the results of the jutsus, Kisame quickly followed up.

"Suiton : Teppodama no Jutsu!"

A stream of seven water bullets fanned out in an arc, causing Haku to jump onto a high tree branch.

Noting Haku's location, Kisame proceeded on to his next jutsu. "Suiton : Mizubashira!"

Four fountains of water shot out from the ground as Haku dodged and weaved through the branches of the tree, going deeper into the forest. Though three ended up missing her and hitting tree trunks, the last geyser caught Haku in the back, throwing her onto the ground.

As Haku tried to stand up, Kisame appeared out of the under brush. The shark-man took out a tube before kneeling and smearing something onto Haku's neck.

Holding the lipstick up, Kisame said solemnly, "It seems I've killed you."

Meanwhile Zabuza and Naruto were dueling with their swords flashing in the sunlight. Zabuza brought his zanbatou in a sweeping arc, clearing the air in front of him. Naruto ducked under and tried to stab Zabuza in the legs. Jumping up, Zabuza landed on Naruto's head before flipping back onto the ground.

Clutching his head in pain, Naruto's sword was batted away, being held with only one hand now.

He blurrily saw the incoming swing and rolled away in a ball. As he was curling, a kunai landed in front of him with a burning tag. Naruto closed his eyes as he waited for the incoming explosion but as the seconds counted down nothing happened.

Relaxing, Naruto opened his eyes to be greeted with a blast of red paint.

Zabuza raised an eyebrow before muttering, "...Completely blown apart...idiot..."

Helping Naruto stand up, he led the boy over to Kisame and Haku. "Well thats it. The mission is tomorrow. No more preperations."

Giving Haku a hard pat on the back Zabuza stretched, "So its the real deal from here on out kiddies. No more training and crap. Now here's the REAL fun."

Cricking his neck, Zabuza continued, "No sense on stressing before a mission, might as well relax a bit."

Agreeing with the break from training whole heartly, the kids joined Zabuza in the activity of louging around, watching other people work their asses off for the rest of the day.

* * *

On the fifth day, the whole crew awoke at the crack of dawn to meet the six squads of ninja the Mizukage had sent. Following their arrival in mere minutes were the Demon brothers. 

With nary a word, each squad got into a wooden barge, destined to take them to Gyakuto.

As the four entered the ship, Zabuza and Kisame immediately headed below decks for the beds, muttering about, 'Despicable sleep interrupting tyrants', while Haku joined Naruto above decks to watch the sun rise.

It was a bright sun that shone upon the pristine waters that day - soon to be clouded over by a haze of blood, sweat and tears...

* * *

**I'm having a horrendous case of writers block. Chapters are rolling out at a snails pace. I do my own editing now too. (As in, I didn't edit before). Also I have these extremely good ideas for the future... Unfortunetly, I'm tired of slogging through the present. On a happier note, the 'prolouge' as I characterize this is almost done.**

**Okay then, thanks for reading!**


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